Passageway enclosure for railway passenger cars



June 30, 1953 K. F. NYSTROM ET AL PASSAGEWAY ENCLOSURE FOR RAILWAYPASSENGER CARS I I llvw INVENTORS' M x. 41:...

Filed June 25, 1949 Patented June 30, I953 PASSAGEWAY" ENCLOSURE. FOR'RA'ILWAY." I

' PASSENGER CARS;

Karl F; Nystrom, Nashotah, and Leonard-L. Lentz,

Milwaukee, Wis.

Application; June 25,,.19 9 .erial.;N- 101,354

Our invention relates to certain improvements in the enclosed passagewayor rubber tunnel" between aligned cars of a passenger railroad train;

eol ims; (01. 105-15) from which cinders, dirt, snow and the like: willbe excluded; that is to say, our present invention: involvesimprovements of the enclosure disclosed in our Patent Number 2,354,045,of July 18.1-94.4, and has for its object the provision of a simplerconstruction having increased strength afiording a non-yieldingconnection at the bottom of the,

2 shownin the formof channel strips, and, an inner metallic strip I].

The base of the, channel strip i is shown, with small vcorrugationsandthe strip l'i is correspondingly corrugated to match the corrugations ofstrip it, as shown at [8 in sectional view Figure 4 to, effectnon-slipping gripping relation with the marginal portion of the rubbertube iii; the two I strips being secured together by. a number ofenclosure or tunnel with the car door frame there,

by ensuring a dirt and weather proof seal throughout the perimeter ofthe tunnel or enclosure ends; a structure which eliminates theneed; forindependent Weatherstrips about the, perimeter of the enclosure ends;our improved structure also involves more secure fastening means whichexerts greater power in drawing the ends of the enclosure into snugrelation with the car end walls or door frames, obviating the necessityof employing special tools or separate means for stretching andfastening the enclosure in place.

Our invention contemplates a yieldable enclosure which maintains itscontour and adapts;

itself to the swayings and relative angularmove-. ments of adjacent carsand provides a safe passageway between the platforms of adjacent, cars.

The objects and advantages of the invention will be readily comprehendedfrom the following;

detailed description of the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is asectional perspective view of parts of the face plate portions of theadjacent vestibules of two aligned cars, with our improved passagewayenclosure arrangedin place; portions of the enclosure and of thevestibule frame members broken away and shown in section.

Figure 2 is a detail perspective-view of theupper; left hand corner ofthe enclosure and; adjacent portion of the face plate, illustrating thelocking mechanism.

Figure 3 is a perspective, as viewed from the ex-. terior, of the lowercorner of the enclosure and} adjacent portion of the car as shown inFigure 1, and disclosing the keeper or socket bracket;

for the lower corner of the enclosure.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional viewtaken onthe line 4-4 of Figure 1.

0urinvention relates to a continuous enclosure 01' tunnel, of rubber orother suitable fabric, for the passageway at the ends of aligned cars;the tunnel or tube id is formed to extend continuously about the top,the two sidesand' bottom to provide a dirt proof enclosure; the tubebeing of sufiicient length to permit it to extend in, more or less tautcondition from car end, to car end of aligned cars.

The ends of the tube involve external metallic frames l5, which, for thepurpose of strength, are

spacedflat headed machine. bolts as at 19, thereby firmly clamping theframes to the ends of the rubber, tunnel or tube. 7 7

Before. the frame, strips I6 and i? are secured together the ends of.the tube it are folded back upon themselves and the strips placed ashort distance, removed from the end so as to provide the Weatherstripforming loop portion 28. It will be understood that the frame membersit; ill extend. entirely around the ends of'the tube or tunnel and thelower corners of the outer strip I 6; are each provided'with a laterallydisposed extension or lug, as shown'at; 2 I which. extends, into anopen-top socket 22 formed on the platform frame or passageway frame 23of the car the rearwardly presented wall" of the socket 22 and the lug2| having matching interengaging short slots.

The upperendofthe tunnel frame is provided with a pair of hand grasps orholds 24', 2:1 which are rigidly secured to the tunnel frame members 16"and 11', whereby the upper endof the tunnel may be stretched, or drawntaut, after one end of the tunnel" has been secured to the end of theadjacent car. The hand holds at, 2% which extend diagonally, as shown inFigure 1, also constitute keeper members for the hooks 25 (one at eachside ofthe door frame) which are eccentrically pivoted on the handlevers 25 (only; one being visible in Figure 1) which are pivotallysecured at one of the ends to the car door frame or-posts 23; The handlevers Zii-are' swung downward initially'to enable the hook to be swunginto engagement with the hand hold 24-, as shown in Figure 2; the levers28 are then moved upwardly in clockwise direction in Figure 2, therebydrawing the upper part of the tunnel toward the car door frame 23' intosnug dirt sealing relation as shown in Figure 1; lever 25 beingmovedinto the vertical or substantially vertical position shown inFigure 1 thereby bringing the end ofthe tunnelintofirm weather sealingrelation with the door or passageway frame at the end of" the car andeliminating-theneed for providing the passageway of'the car withspecially formed shells to receive the. ends of'the tunnel.

The bottom of the tunnelior enclosure is supported by the usua1foot-plates secured to the.

buffer channels 21; and the tunnel frame is pro 3 free marginal portionof plate 23 is shown bent downwardly to extend flush with the carplatform and thereby cover the juncture between the end frame of thetunnel and the car platform.

Our improved tunnel or enclosure preferably is employed with railroadpassenger cars whose ends are provided with the usual diaphragms,portions of which are shown in Figure l at 28, although its constructionand operation is independent of the diaphragm.

In practice, the extensions or lugs 2! at the bottom of one end of thetunnel are first inserted into the sockets 22 and the top end of thetunnel then pressed against the upright door post 23 and the adjacenthooks 25 thrown into latching engagement with the hand-holds 2d and thelevers 26 swung upwardly into the locking position shown in Figure 1,thereby clamping the perimeter of the tunnel end into firm relation withthe car end post. This operation is repeated at the opposite end of thetunnel with the aligned car; the

upper part of the tunnel being pulled by means of the hand-holds 24until the adjacent hooks 25 can be hooked over the; hand-holds; afterwhichthe corresponding levers 26 are swung upwardly as shown in Figure1, ther by drawing the tunnel taut and in weather sealing relation withthe stationary door posts by means of the continuous looped or foldedportion 2% of the tunnel wall.

In the event a car is to be uncoupled from the train, the tunnel mayquickly be released upon swinging the hand levers 2S downwardly as shownin Figure 2, releasing the hoolrs from the handholds and lifting the endof the tunnel and disengaging the extensions or lugs if from the sockets22, which will permit the tunnel to the end of the other car.

With our present construction, as is apparent, the cutting of the fabricor rubber tunnel as to length is less critical than heretofore due tothe fact that the ends are folded back as shown in Figure 4 and clampedtogether at a short distance removed from the folded edge so as toprovidethe protruding weat erstrip portion 23.

7 "We have described what we believe to be the simplest and bestembodiment of the invention, but certain structural modifications may bemade without, however, departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

l. A passageway enclosure between aligned railway cars comprising, incombination with vertically disposed frame members at opposite sides ofthe passageway opening in the car or vestibule end wall of each ear andabove thecar platform, and open top sockets adjacent the bottom of saidmembers; a continuous elastic tube whose ends are folded back onthemselves; a pair of continuous rectangular frame forming metallicstrips, at each end of the tube provided with longitudinally arrangedoffset surfaces for gripping the folded ends of the tube therebetween,the lower outer corners of said metallic frame having outwardly disposedprojections adapted to extend into said sockets on the car frame andthereby support the lower part of the tube in place, while the uppercorners of said metallic frame and within the tube are provided withrigid hand-grasp forming braces, means whereby said frame members andintervening folded tube ends are rigidly secured together; crank-likelevers pivotally sefold against,

cured at an end to a vertical face of said car frame members at oppositesides of the passageway; and a hook member eccentrically pivoted on saidlevers and adapt-ed to engage said braces whereby the tube upper endsare drawn into weather sealing relation with the car frame members andsecured in snug relation therewith when said levers are swungvertically.

r v 2. A passageway enclosure between aligned railway cars provided withpassageways at the ends outlined by flat faced frame members at the topand sides above the car platform and provided with sockets adjacent thebottoms of the side frame members open at the tops and one of the sides;a continuous flexible tube adapted to extend from car-end to car-end ofadjacent cars, the ends of the tube being folded back upon itself; apair of matching metallic strips secured to said folded ends of the tubeinwardly of the immediate ends to enable the folds to constituteweather-strip providing portions at the tube ends, one of said stripsbeing located within the tube adjacent its top with a diagonal braceformed to provide a hand-grasping portion for drawing the top of thetube against the car frame members, the other strip being located on thetube exterior and formedadjacent its bottom with laterally disposedprotrusions or lugs adapted to seat in said sockets for holding thelower end of the tube in place; means whereby said strips andintervening tube ends are firmly secured together; levers pivotallysecured to the passageway side frame members; a hook eecentricallypivoted on each lever with its free end adapted to engage the adjacenthand-grasping portion and thereby lock the upper end of the tube inplace.

3. A passageway enclosure between aligned railway cars the platform orvestibules whereof are provided with flat faced passageway outliningmembers; a continuous flexible tube adapted to extend from car-end tocar-end to provide a passage tunnel between the cars; a pair of framemembers secured to the inner and to the outer sides adjacent each end ofthe tube removed from the immediate tube-end so as to have extended tubeportions beyond the tube frame members to bear against the flat facedmembers of the car and thereby provide protruding weather-strip formingportions adapted to extend flush with the flat faced car members; meanswhereby said frame members and intervening tube ends are rigidly securedtogether; means at the lower ends of the tube frames and on the car endsadapted to effect interengaging relation and thereby hold the lower partof the tube in place; the inner frame members adjacent the top at eachend of the tube having diagonally disposed braces whereby the upper endsof the tubes may be drawn toward said passageway outlining members ofthe cars; and hand lever and hookmembers pivotally secured to saidoutlining members adapted to effect holding engagement with the bracesat the upper end of the tube and thereby draw the latter into weathersealing relation with the car end walls.

KARL F. N YSTROM. LEONARD L. LENTZ.

Name Date 487,776 Rosa Dec. 13, 1892 2,354,045 Nystrom et a1; July 18,1944

